A Stalker, A Curse, & A Destiny
by PerpetualWanderer398.2
Summary: Emma Swan pretends not to notice the strange man following her home, but once he scrawls her address down in a notebook and walks away, she decides to turn the tables and follow her follower. Captain Swan fic through and through.
1. Prologue

_Prologue:_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

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><p>Killian Jones took a deep, satisfied breath. Revenge was within his grasp, his cerulean eyes lit up with unmasked morbid glee at the mere thought of his revenge that he had spent the last 300 years or so desperately seeking. Now all he had to do was find this legendary <em>Savior, <em>using nothing but his instincts and a description that fit half the wenches he'd bedded in his lifetime (which if you knew him at all, then you would know that that was a lot).

Finding the _Savior _that was foretold to break the crocodiles curse would be difficult but it was necessary. Then he could enact his long-awaited revenge.

He blatantly refused to exact his vengeance on the man when he did not know who he was, he wanted the man down on his knees, pleading for forgiveness that he would never get. The bastard didn't deserve that luxury.

The only thing standing in his way this so-called _Savior _and the fact that she had yet to break this sodding curse that was protecting the crocodile. She was the key, she would break the curse then Cora would be reunited with her daughter and he would get revenge on his crocodile.

Cora.

At the mere thought of her his satisfied expression twisted into one of disgust. That was the downside to his quest; _Her Majesty_ had him tending to her every need. Though he refused to be one of her lackeys, he begrudgingly did as she asked, knowing it would benefit him in the end. These days there was little he _wouldn't do_ to get a chance at exacting his vengeance.

Unfortunately aligning himself with Cora was not among the items on the embarrassingly short list. Speak of the bloody devil, he watched as she made her way up the steps that lead below deck. "How are we progressing Captain?" she inquired with a sickly sweet smile stretching at her thin lips.

_We? _He thought scoffing inwardly at her false inquiry. "We are making good time Majesty." He managed to grit out with a sarcastic smile.

"Perfect." She said with a satisfied grin. She held up the clear shining bean up for inspection. Hook knew they were lucky to have found the rare bean that they now had in their possession.

It had been a treacherous journey, he had been forced to climb a bloody beanstalk and once he reached the top, he was expected to find a tiny bean amongst piles upon piles of gold and jewels, and guarded by a sodding giant no less. When he finally managed to outwit the savage giant and obtain the bean, his journey took an unexpected turn- the bean was petrified. He'd grabbed it quickly in his rush to escape the bloodthirsty giant and he didn't notice 'til he landed with a thud on the ground at the beanstalks base.

When he showed the measly object to Cora she didn't falter, saying it would only lengthen their trip slightly but it would not bring it to a complete stop.

After a quick trip to Lake Nostos, the bean was restored to its former glory and their quest was back on track. Bring them to their current predicament.

Killians' beloved ship, The Jolly Roger, was sailing toward a specific coordinate that Cora had charted the day before. Once they reached said location they would create their portal and travel to the Land Without Magic. Where the blasted curse had sucked all the Enchanted Forest inhabitants to. There, there would be no magic for the cowardice crocodile to hide behind.

The next day they reached their destination. Cora handed the transparent bean to Hook and he arched his good arm back then he launched it forward with as much force as he could muster. The bean went flying into faraway waters. They watched as the portal formed in the distance then Hook moved to the helm and set sail toward the swirling vortex.

The next morning when Hook strode on deck, Cora was hot on his heels. The night before they had discussed their plans, Hook was to go into the city and seek out the Savior and Cora was to stay and collect more information on the whereabouts of the dagger. They were nearing the large land that after hours upon hours of studying the strange map Cora had 'acquired' Hook had learned was called New York.

Along with the map, Cora had also obtained a strange set of clothing that he was to wear so as to fit in with the others in the foreign land. He quickly replaced his namesake for a stiff leather-clad wooden hand. Afterward he changed out of his former attire and into his new one. He instantly missed his leather, the little scrap of leather covering his false hand offered little comfort. But he knew this was necessary, Cora said that if he did this she give him the dagger, the only object that could kill Rumplestiskin, his crocodile.

Cora had cast an invisibility spell over his ship before they docked, so as not to attract unwanted attention. Once he stepped off his ship and onto the dock, he was quickly overcome by a nostalgic feeling at the prospect of leaving his beauty behind even if it was for a short time, and under Cora's careless reign no less. Despite this, he stepped off the docks and into the bustling city and hurriedly began his long search for the _Savior._

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><p><strong><em>AN: Don't worry I know its short, but it's just a prologue! Trying to ease you guys into the fic. More importantly trying to ease myself into the fic. In case you couldn't tell, this is my first fic on and I'm still pretty new to all of this so please be gentle. This in unbeta'ed so sorry for any mistakes. Any constructive criticism or additional input will be greatly appreciated and put under consideration. Review please! I'd love to know what you guys think!_**


	2. Chapter 1

_Chapter One:_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

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><p>Emma Swan let out a ragged sigh and ran a hand through her unruly golden curls as she began the short walk home. It was a route she was familiar with. After nearly 7 years of living in New York and working for the same Bail-Bonds agency, she knew it like the back of her hand. Usually she walked home with her co-worker Rosie Taylor but unfortunately, Rosie was sick so she hadn't shown up for work today. So, Emma walked home alone. But it was okay, she was used to being alone, in fact she'd always done better on her own. Because though Emma thought Rosie was pleasant company, they weren't friends. Friends, was just not something Emma did. She was kind of a loner. She always had been, always would be. No friends, no family.<p>

Her loving adoptive parents had been brutally murdered when she was 6. She hadn't been home at the time, she'd gotten into a fight with her mother and in turn ran off in a common toddlers temper tantrum. When she'd eventually returned home, her house was lit up in flames. Her home was burned to the ground, and along with it, her parents. After further investigation, proof was found that her parents were in fact dead before the fire was lit.

That day Emma vowed to find the scumbags that did this, that tore her family apart, the wretched people that caused her so much unnecessary and incessant pain. Needless to say, Emma missed out on a regular childhood, her early years consumed with an anger that no little girl should ever have to endure. Shame, she didn't even have a tombstone to visit.

Unfortunately, Emma was unable to escape the terrible torment of foster homes, for she was 6 and not nearly old enough to fend for herself, and no one wanted to adopt her again. After all, who would want to adopt an angry 6 year old? Regardless, she was never quite the same after that particular incident, second adoption or no.

As Emma grew up, moving from foster home to foster home, she quickly and understandably she lost all of her few friends. Because really, what sensible mother would let their child play with the _foster child?_ Eventually one day she realized there was nothing keeping her, so when she was 16, she left, ran away from her abusive foster home and moved to Philadelphia and became a waitress at a cheap roadside diner_._

That was about the same time she met him. When _he_ left her 2 years later, she stayed only as long as necessary to do her time, and do a couple other things that she was never too proud of, before she worked up enough money to move to New York and into her current apartment.

(Emma's hands balled up into white-knuckled fists at the recollection of what that bastard did to her. Bars clicking shut and the wailing of sirens echoed in her mind at the thought.)

She applied at the first law enforcement agency she found, which just so happened to be a Bail-Bonds agency, and when she got in she set to work. After 2 years of digging up records, interviewing witnesses, and following suspects, she finally found her parents murders, (a pair of dirty thugs, obviously a hired hit and run) and put them up for a lifetime behind bars.

Her deep emerald eyes darkened and filled with tears at the thought of her parents untimely death at the hands of a pair of low lives straight from the street. Though they weren't her real parents, she'd loved them dearly and they loved her right back; that was real enough for her.

Suddenly her ears perked up at the sound of footfalls behind her. She had a strange feeling that this person was following her so she paused and pretended to dig through her purse. She grabbed her cell phone, better safe than sorry. _Maybe, but who would you even call in an emergency?_ A voice taunted hauntingly in the back of her head. She merely shook her head as if to get rid of those thoughts and kept up her façade. The footfalls stopped mere seconds after hers and as soon as she began walking they started up again. Emma smirked to herself and continued her act of false ignorance.

Suddenly she took a sharp, unexpected turn into an alley that shortened the already short walk to her apartment. She heard the footsteps falter for a moment before resuming their steady pace. She tried her best to stifle her chuckle.

Once she reached her building she opened the door and walked up to her apartment. She noted with slight surprise that her stalker didn't follow her into the building. She stepped inside her apartment and quietly kicked off her heels. She didn't turn on her lights to maintain the illusion that she hadn't reached her apartment yet, she tip-toed over to her window, resembling a thief in her own apartment, (she anxiously swallowed down the bile that came up at the memories 'thief' brought up in her mind) and slowly pulled her curtains apart just a crack.

She glanced down and noticed that a man, illuminated by a street light, in a pair of dark wash jeans and a black hoodie was in fact watching for signs of life in all the visible windows of her building. She flicked the switch next to her and light flooded the room. She watched as the man's head turned abruptly to her window. His eyes jumped rapidly from window to window, counting until they reached he's once again, before counting once again in the other direction. _Probably trying to get my apartment number_ she thought to herself.

Emma watched as he fumbled in his satchel and took out a black spiral notebook, resting it on his gloved hand that seemed strangely stiff, then wrote down what she supposed was her address and then he turned on his heel and walked away. She quickly slipped on a more comfortable and significantly quieter pair of shoes as opposed to her previous heels and slipped out her door, intent of finding out the identity of her mysterious and potentially dangerous stalker.

Emma followed the strange man for a few blocks, watching for any signs of a man knowing he's being followed. So far she'd only picked up on his casual glances to the right and the slightest upward quirk of his lips when he did so. _He knows_ Emma thought _he knows he's being followed and he's… happy? Amused maybe?_

They reached a strangely empty clearing and he came to a stop. She stopped as well a few paces behind him. After a few moments, during which she had stared suspiciously at the dark man as he fiddled with what she could now see was a prosthetic hand, a puff of purple smoke appeared and from the strange woman stepped out. She was wearing a dark blue _ball gown_ with black lace trimmings.

"Cora." The dark man acknowledged.

"Hook. Is the object secure? Do you have the information I require?" she inquired in a light yet stern tone.

"Lass, have you ever known me to fail?" he asked with a slightly bitter chuckle.

As soon as his lips parted, and that _sinfully sexy _accent made itself known, Emma's heart fluttered to say the least. _No Emma! Don't think like that, remember what _he_ did to you. All the pain _**his** **abandonment**_ caused. Do you really want to have to relive that? Now please, knock it off! _Emma's expression hardened as she internally scolding herself over her treacherous thoughts, _his _face flashing through her mind.

Cora chuckled lightly and said, "Of course not _Captain. _That's why I chose you to do the job."

He smirked at the special emphasis that she put on what could only be his title. Then he turned and produced what a dark notebook, which Emma quickly recognized as the one he wrote her address in, then moved hand said notebook over to the middle aged woman. Just as she reached for it, he quickly, almost as an afterthought, moved it above his head and just out of her reach saying, "Ah ah ah Cora. You know what I want."

With a frustrated sigh, Cora stretched her hand out and lightly touched his forehead. He was quickly engulfed in black smoke. It collapsed on itself before growing bigger than before. When the strange fog finally cleared up, his prosthetic hand had fallen to the floor with a thunk and in its place was a wickedly sharp hook. _I must be dreaming _Emma thought dimly. The mans clothing was replaced as well, he was dressed in a pair of tight leather slacks and a blood red velvet vest. He had neglected to put on a shirt underneath said vest, so its plunging neckline revealed a tantalizing glimpse of his chest hair. Over top of it all he had a heavy, knee length leather coat with clasps going down the front.

"That's not what I meant." He growled out, then in almost as an afterthought he added, "Though at least you did me one favor," he smiled tightly "I'm devilishly handsome again." His tight smile quirked up to one side, morphing into a cocksure smirk.

Meanwhile, standing in the shadows, Emma stared bewilderedly at the scene as it played out before her very eyes, desperately trying to piece together the situation that she had walked into. In the last 5 minutes she had seen a flamboyantly dressed woman appear out of thin air, then she saw that same woman completely change a man's appearance with a mere flick of her wrist. She was baffled to say the least.

Is this why the man was amused when he saw her following him? What did any of this have to do with her? Why did he have to follow her in the first place? Why were they bickering over a notebook that evidently held information about her? So many unanswered questions.

"You know just as much as I do that the dagger is irretrievable at the moment." At her scolding tone, he snarled "But don't worry Captain, you'll get your revenge, all in due time." She smiled thinly, "All in due time. Now," she said, snapping back to attention, "the information I require." She held her hand out expectantly.

The man whom she referred to as Hook begrudgingly handed over the notebook. _Hook, hmm funny nickname. Wait she'd also referred to him as captain! Captain Hook!? Yup- I'm definitely dreaming._

"And this contains everything I need to know?" Cora asked curtly.

"Yes of course, _Majesty."_ He spat between clenched teeth. "Her occupation and its location, her current residence and other excess information that maybe of your use."

_Majesty? Like royalty!? This dream just gets more and more confusing._

"Good, then we can get started." She smiled a crocodile-like grin. And with that they were both engulfed in a swirling mass of black and purple smoke. The smoke then collapsed on itself then disappeared with a loud pop.

Emma stared blankly at the spot where they had been standing a few seconds ago, her mind racing a mile a minute. Slowly Emma moved out of her hiding spot and walked over to said spot and crouched down, inspecting for any signs of trickery.

After a few minutes of inspection, she came up empty. _If this is really a dream then I shouldn't be worrying so much about something that I probably won't even remember in the morning,_ Emma thought, consoling herself half heartedly. Emma walked back to her apartment in a zombielike state all the while her mind wandered from the wildly out of place outfits to the strange names, references and titles.

When she finally reached her apartment, she toed off her shoes and padded to her room, shutting the door behind her. Her mind was hazy with confusion as she absentmindedly changed and collapsed onto her large bed. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments while she pondered the strange dream within a dream she appeared to have found herself in. Slowly her eyes drifted shut, and the last thing she remembered was a pair of deep cerulean eyes filled with mischief.

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><p><strong><em>AN: Chapter 1 is up! Once again it's pretty short, but it's necessary to get it started. So in turn the first few chapters will be about this length but as we get further into the fic, the chapters will lengthen! So worry not my wonderful readers! I'm really hoping that you guys are understanding were I'm heading with this fic, but if you aren't, please feel free to ask any questions and I'll try my best to clear anything up and make sure to be not so vague in future chapters! Review please!_**


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two:_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

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><p>Hook had been searching for approximately 3 weeks before he spotted her.<p>

It'd been a long week and he'd decided to treat himself to a drink in a nearby bar. When he'd finished he'd continued to scope out for a certain blond haired savior when he saw a woman who seemed to fit the description he'd been given, she had been exiting what he now knew as an elevator in an upscale inn with large glass walls that over looked the city and faced the bar he'd previously been drinking at.

She had been wearing a _sinfully _tight and short red dress. She looked just as Cora had described, the fair skin, the blond tresses, and the, begrudged as he was to say it, captivating green eyes. She appeared to be having dinner with a man that, if he'd said so himself, was not nearly as handsome as he, and was definitely not worthy of her affections. They'd looked to be talking but there was only so much he could see through his telescope at his spot in a narrow ally across the street. Upon closer inspection, he could just make out the words her plump pink lips were forming.

Her name was Emma Swan. It was her birthday, and she had no friends or family to spend it with. _Bingo_! This was his mark, she was the alleged savior. _That must be why she's out with this wanker on what appears to be their first date. _He thought, absentmindedly feeling strangely sorry for the lonely Swan-girl. Her date took a turn for the worse as the man quickly stood and flipped the table which in turn caused the glass of wine on the table to spill on her dress. She mumbled out a curse before she got up to. . . _What, chase after her date?_ He thought confusedly. _Surely the lass has more pride than that. _

When the dark haired man stepped out of the building, the blond was hot on his heels. She maintained her calm and collected demeanor, as opposed to the man who looked flustered and panic stricken. Hook slowly neared the scene, stopping just close enough to overhear their conversation but not close enough to be seen. It was quickly made clear that the situation was not as he'd initially perceived it, in fact it seemed the lass was attempting to arrest the man.

The aforementioned man hurried to explain and worm his way out of his current predicament, but the blond would have none of it. _Tough lass,_ he thought with a smirk. The man, clearly seeing his previous tactic wasn't going to work, and falsely figuring that there was no way cheap for him to get out of this particularly sticky situation, opted for a different tactic instead. At his offers of what Hook recognized as this realms currency, her face twisted into one of disgust, one which he was sure mirrored his own, and she immediately declined, saying he should give it to his wife so she could take care of the family that he was currently neglecting. The dark haired snarled calculatingly, "Yeah well what do you know about family?"

Strangely enough, Hook had to restrain himself from going over to the man and showing him just how dangerous Captain Hook can be. It was odd how in a matter of minutes he'd managed to develop a fierce protectiveness over the fiery lass, and he had yet to actually meet her. That, of course, by no means meant that he was ready to give up his revenge, in fact seeing her, merely excited him at the prospect of his vengeance being all the closer.

Nevertheless, it appeared that this lass could take care of herself because in one quick movement her hand was splayed on the back of his head and she launched it forward, knocking him unconscious on the dashboard. Hook was about to turn away and head back to the docks to tell Cora of the little yet useful knowledge he just gained, but not before he heard her chuckle bitterly and whisper an utterly broken, "Nothing."

Once he returned to the ship, Hook told Cora that he'd learned the saviors name and her obvious occupation, she'd demanded that he learn more. He had refused to outright tell her the information, needing to maintain some sort of leverage, but he did agree that they needed more information to go on than merely her name and occupation. So over the span of the next few days, he dug deeper, learned more about this intriguing Swan-girl.

She had lived alone in New York for nearly 8 years, and she wasn't lying when she said that she had no friends or family. Though she did have an occasional companion, one Rosie Taylor, but seeing as how they worked together, he figured that this Rosie was merely an acquaintance.

He'd been watching for any signs of her knowing about her destiny. His conclusion was that she was either really good at hiding it or that she didn't even know. He scoffed at the idea. _Surely the girls parents weren't daft enough so as to let her go without telling her about her destiny, without indicating to her somehow that she was destined for something greater than what she was so unfairly given. _

Then next day he went a step further than usual. Generally he would watch her every move through his telescope from a remote location where he could not be spotted. But that day he decided to get up-close and personal so he could get her address. He watched her get out of her work building and begin her routine walk home from work. He made an attempt to walk as nonchalantly as possible, calculating his steps so he didn't make much noise. His attempt obviously failed as he saw her previously bowed head rise abruptly and her quick steps faltered.

She turned her head to the side and seemed to smirk to herself. She stopped, he fumbled to stop in time with her footsteps, so as not to set her off, then she dug through her handbag then she grabbed an object he'd learned was called a cellular telephone. It was supposed to help keep in contact with people from faraway. _Clever girl. _He thought admiringly.

They walked in silence for the next few moments, he was quickly tiring with her act of false ignorance about the curse and her destiny. As he pondered this he looked down and fiddled with is false hand. When he looked back up she was gone. His fast paced steps faltered when his guide disappeared. He kept walking warily forward until he saw a narrow alleyway that led straight to her apartment. _Strange, this isn't part of her normal routine. Ha! The lass knows she's being followed. She… bested me. _He thought with a soft smile _No mate! This is all for Milah! Remember her, the one who you've spent the last 300 years attempting to avenge? _As Hooks face hardened as the memory of her untimely death, he internally scolded himself, they reached her building and she slipped inside.

He watched each window closely for the next few moments, watching for any telltale signs of life in an apartment that would no doubt be hers. He waited for the next few minutes when a bright light suddenly erupted from a window. He quickly calculated the floor and room number then he produced the notebook, in which he had been documenting any and all information that he obtained about the Swan-girl, then he quickly scrawled out her residence information next to what he already knew.

He turned abruptly on his heel and headed back towards the preplanned meeting place, where he would wait for Cora to appear. When he reached the alley that the clever blond had gone through, he paused and turned his head just slightly and he saw the light in her apartment was off and a shadow was coming out of the front door.

It was actually a few minutes before he actually heard her following him. She was good, he'd give her that, but they both knew she wasn't even putting much effort into being discreet. Hook smiled to himself, hoping that her seeing his little rendezvous with Cora would help shake her out of her ignorant act and spur her into action so she would break the curse and he could finally exact his long awaited revenge on the crocodile that killed his love.

He walked the rest of the way until he finally reached the spot that Cora had no doubt cleared out beforehand, and he waited. He was hoping that the show that Cora would no doubt put on, viewers or not, would help state the fact that they were there to attempt to coerce her into breaking the curse.

After a few moments of pondering how the blond would react and of ways to go about it once she did, Cora was standing in front of him, shaking off the remainder of the smoke that always surrounded her when she 'poofed'. She always had been all about maintaining ones status and, to her, flamboyance was just part of the job description. She hadn't even changed out of the attire she had been wearing when he'd left her several weeks ago. He signed warily, eager to get the conversation started just so it would be over all the sooner. "Cora." He acknowledged.

"Hook." She said with a nod. "Is the object secure? Do you have the information I require?" To anyone but the select few that actually knew Cora, she may have sounded sweet, but he could detect the underlying threat beneath the statement.

"Lass, have you ever known me to fail?" he asked with a self-loathing chuckle, remembering the one time he did fail to protect his beautiful Milah.

She smirked cruelly at his self deprecating smile. "Of course not _Captain. _That's why I chose you for the job." She said putting what she must've thought was a seductive emphasis on his title, but really it just sent a rush of shivers to go down his spine. He attempted to cover up his discomfort with a smirk.

With a disbelieving quirk of his eyebrow and a tilt of his head, he slowly turned and reached into his satchel for the notebook where he had been collecting the information he'd been gathering over the last few weeks. He was just about to hand it over when an idea came to him. As she lifted her arm to grab it, he quickly pulled it out of her reach, "Ah ah ah Cora. You know what I want." He said in a condescending tone.

Cora signed, picking up on what he desired. She reached her and out and touched her forefinger lightly to his forehead. He was enveloped by a thick black fog and when it cleared up, he looked down to see he was back in the comfort of his pirate garb. Though it was nice and familiar, he knew that she knew that that wasn't what he had been asking for. He voiced his thoughts out in a growl, but he couldn't hold himself back when the opportunity arose to compliment himself.

Though his mood was good considering his current company, it plummeted when she reminded him that the alleged daggers whereabouts were still unknown to them with the tone of a mother chiding her misbehaving child. This time when she asked for the information, once again holding her hand out expectantly, he handed it over with an aggravated sigh.

"And this contains everything I need to know?" Cora asked sternly.

"Yes of course, _Majesty."_ He spat between clenched teeth. "Her occupation and its location, her address and other excess information that maybe of your use."

"Good, then we can get started." She said with a morbid kind of glee that was oh so very _Cora._ Before he could even blink, they were back on the deck of his ship and Cora was standing at the helm.

Ignoring Cora's angry cries for him to 'come back here at once', he walked off below deck, retiring to his quarters, which he had missed dearly. He removed his jacket and vest before he began working off the contraption that held his hook in place. Once finished, he collapsed onto his bed with a tired sigh, his thoughts drifting to the Swan-girl. He would have to find a way to speak with her about what she'd seen so he could help her get a jumpstart on her destiny to break the curse. And he knew this had to be soon as well, because it was likely that if she did in fact know about her destiny and she hadn't broken the curse or made any attempt to find the town that held her parents captive, then chances where that perhaps she didn't want to break the curse at all. And if he'd gotten to know her at all in the past few weeks, which he did, then he knew she wouldn't come willingly to chat with a complete stranger. So he would have to find a way to catch her alone to make her understand that it was imperative to his sanity that she break the curse as soon as possible so that he could finally give the crocodile what was coming to him.

Once he had a basic plan formulated in his mind, he slowly drifted off. Except that night rather than seeing his long gone dark haired seductress, his dreams were filled with hair as delicate as gold and smiles that shone like the sun.

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><p><strong><em>AN: So sorry for the late update! Unfortunately the last few days of the semester caught up with me and they were spent with me vigorously doing any last minute work I could get my hands on so as to raise my grades, but now they are all fixed and the new semester has begun and I've finally found the time to upload another chapter. Again, it's another short chapter with next to no Captain Swan interaction, but don't worry! It's coming and when it does, I promise it'll be worth it! I'm going to try to update as regularly as I can so about every 2 days. And I've already got the first half of the next chapter done! Thank you my lovely wonderful readers! Review Please!_**


	4. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three:_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

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><p>When Emma awoke the next morning she had a dry, scratchy throat and was thoroughly drenched in a cold sweat from head to toe. Though her dreams from the night before had started out pleasant enough, with deep trusting blue eyes and lilting accents, they had quickly distorted into disturbing flashes of a dingy diner and chocolate eyes filled with mischief and false promises of adventure. Her doctors had called it Post Traumatic Stress disorder or PTS but she since hadn't had an episode in a while, she'd almost dared to hope that it had gone away, but really, when was she ever so lucky?<p>

When it first started, some morbid part of her enjoyed going through it all again. Being lulled into a false sense of security before he betrayed her all over again and she felt as if someone had taken the ground right out from underneath her feet. Part of her had enjoyed the naïve excitement and adventure that was Neal Cassidy and she'd initially enjoyed going through it so as to sneak another longing glance at his weathered face. But at this point, almost 10 years later, she just wanted to move on and escape all the nightmarish memories he'd left her with.

But there was still that little voice in the back of her head, that sounded an awful lot like Neal that kept repeating '_You deserve this, you deserve this…' _ like a painful little mantra, constantly torturing her and reminding her of her paradoxical decision to give up her child for adoption after all her painful experiences in the system, the memories of wondering who your parents were and why they had given you up and of waiting, just daring to hope that they would come back and find you one day if you were good enough. Memories that were bound to come up no matter how she decided to give him away. Regardless, the minute the nurse had walked away with her son, she regretted her decision to give him up, but she knew she'd done the right thing. She couldn't be selfish, she had to give him his best chance. And that certainly wasn't with her.

As soon as Emma managed to bring down the rapid pace of her breathing, she slowly lugged herself out of her bed and walked on clumsy legs into the bathroom. She stripped out of her sweat - drenched pajamas and turned on the shower to as hot as she could stand it. She gingerly stepped under the steaming spray and ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She clamped her eyes shut and let the scalding water wash away the pain her memories had brought up in her.

She stood under the showerhead for a few more minutes before she quickly finished then dried off and dressed herself. She sat down on the couch with her laptop and typed in the name of her latest perp. She'd heard from her co-workers that he was a slippery one, a hard one to catch, but she wasn't worried, she was the best chaser the firm had. After all it was the only thing that was truly hers and hers only. It was all she knew. She'd dedicated her life to her job as soon as she gotten it. She often threw herself into her work so as to distract herself from the failure and loneliness that often times clouded her life.

Suddenly, Emma paused, glancing out the window, memories of the night before bombarding her mind, visions of a leather clad man and an ornately dressed woman filled her mind. Suddenly she was reminded of the conversation she'd overheard; they had information. About her. But why?

_And this contains all the information I require? Yes, Majesty. Good then we can get started._ The conversation drifted through her mind as she attempted to piece together the meaning behind it all. Emma thought back, she remembered a time when she had heard somewhere that your dreams where a way for your subconscious to help you solve warring problems, what did a gay pirate and an old witch have anything to do with her perpetual problems? _What a strange dream._

Emma stood, shaking her head free of her current confusing thoughts before she walked to the door, swinging her red leather jacket on and zipping up her boots, before heading out the door and skipping down the steps.

As soon as she exited her building, she was filled with that same eerie feeling that she had had the night before; the feeling that she was being followed. She stopped, scanning her surroundings and turning in a circle to search for any signs of a follower. Behind her? Nothing. To her left? Her right? Zilch. She kept looking around in a fruitless effort, only to come up empty handed.

She shrugged skeptically to herself, and continued her walk to work. Watching her surroundings with narrowed eyes all the while. She decided to take the same short cut she had taken last night, and as she turned her heel into the narrow alley, she heard a rustling behind her. She felt a warm hand on her hip and she quickly turned just in time to see the butt of her own gun heading straight for her temple. He flashed her what appeared to be an apologetic smile, before he let the weight drop hard. Her eyes widened comically before her whole world went dark.

* * *

><p>Hook watched from across the street, hidden by the shadows, as Emma emerged from her building. He sighed exasperatedly, immediately knowing from her rigid posture and the grim set to her mouth that his initial tactic of talking it out rationally wouldn't work. This was <em>supposed <em>to be easy. With a shake of his head, he decided to switch tactics to something faster and more likely to keep him intact and away from hers and other suspicious eyes.

Suddenly, her stance, if possible, straightened even further, all the muscles in her back tensing and she began to look around, panicked, like a trapped animal. After a few moments of her looking around for who he supposed had to be him, she hesitantly continued her walk, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she kept scanning her surroundings as she walked toward the alley she had led him through the night prior. He quickened his pace, silently stalking forward until he was right behind her. It was now or never, he grabbed the sturdy looking black object from her hip and moved it up quickly to knock her unconscious.

By now she had turned to him and when she spotted _her _weapon in _his _hands, he flashed her an apologetic smile and her eyes widened as he let the heavy thing come down hard on her temple.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and he quickly put his arms out her to catch her when she collapsed.

* * *

><p>When Emma finally came to, she was lying on what she would probably describe as the most comfortable bed she had ever laid on.<p>

At the realization that her bed was nowhere near as comfortable as this one, she shot up, her hands moving to massage her temples, attempting to chase away her oncoming headache before it came, unfortunately her attempt was thwarted when she noticed the cuffs, _her _cuffs, that were latched around her wrist and the bedpost yanked her back.

Emma stared in disbelief at the binds that held her to the bed before briefly scanning her surroundings for something she could use to pick the lock and get herself out, when her eyes landed on an eerily familiar dark figure watching her from the shaded corners of the cabin.

Seriously, _Mr. Tall, Dark, and Creepy watching from the shadows? What is this a horror movie?_

She acted as though she hadn't yet seen him when an idea came to her. The keys. Surely the dumb bastard hadn't thought to take both sets of keys to her cuffs. She nonchalantly moved her free hand behind her back as her eyes kept scanning the room as though unperturbed. When her hand reached and empty back pocket, she sighed, turning to look the shadowed man straight in the eye. "Did you _have_ to take _both_ sets of keys?"

The man chuckled lightly at her sarcastic remark, lightly shaking his head from side to side and smirking at the ground before he stepped out and lifted his eyes to meet hers, before reaching about to one of his many pockets and retrieving the keys, dangling them tauntingly around her face. "Well, lass how else could I be sure to get you to stay? You're a slippery one, a hard lass to find."

Emma's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as her eyes met his. Recognition flooded her mind as images of a dark alley and a brief image of a sharp hook glinting in the moonlight slowly enveloped her. She let her eyes trail downwards, lifting her eyebrow and scoffing disbelievingly at his questionable heavy black leather attire. _What sort of messed up situation did she manage to stumble into now?_

He cleared his throat and her wide eyes shot up to his face. That damned smirk had broadened at her gaping, and when she returned her eyes to his, she quickly snapped her mouth shut with a click and squinted her eyes in disgust at the amused and cocky smirk on his face.

Suddenly she realized where she recognized him from and her free hand flew up to stifle her gasp. "It's you." She said accusingly "The guy from last night; the guy from my dream."

His smirk merely grew more at the thought that she had dreamt of him. "Don't worry darling, you're not the first lass to fantasize about me and you certainly won't be the last."

"No, no it wasn't a fantasy, you were there in an alley with a woman in a . . . . ball gown? Oh god I must still be dreaming." She said more to herself than him.

His eyebrows knitted together and he sent her a quizzical look. Then realization seemed to flood his face. He nodded to himself before he began to move forward, toward Emma. Slowly he stepped closer to her all the while tilting his head and eyeing her apprehensively. "Are you feeling alright there, Swan?"

"How do you know my name?" Emma barked, slowly backing as far away from him as her cuffs would allow.

"Lass I mean you no harm. I'm sorry if I frightened you." He said, flashing her an apologetic smile.

"Ha!" Emma scoffed. "You mean me _no _harm?" she asked disbelievingly. "Then why am I cuffed to your bed with _my own damn cuffs!?" _Her voice got rougher and even more enraged as she spoke. "Let me go or I'll call the police on you! You know what? I'm going to call the police on you whether you let me go or not! You're insane and I demand that you let me go right now!"

"Whoa, now calm down lass." he said, stopping her mid-rant and holding his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"Why? Who are you? Where am I? Where are you taking me?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at her captor. _This guy was obviously a quack_

"Why love, I'm Captain Hook, you're on my ship, and we're headed to a quaint little town called Storybrooke."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So sorry for the extended delay! So much happened over the last few weeks and I just couldn't get away. Not to mention a serious case of writer's block. Anyways, after writing these past few chapters I've come to the conclusion that I am incapable of writing chapters above 2,000 words. I simply cannot so I will not try anymore. Which means more frequent updates! Yay! Right? On that note, please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Should I keep going? Yes? No? Maybe? Review please!**_


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